Would God Care About an On-Time Christmas Delivery?

Two and a half months into the South African Postal Workers Strike, I wrote these words in my prayer journal : Grandpa and Nana’s Christmas Box – Kuskie Box (October 25, 2014).

Somewhere in a huge, overflowing pile of mail at one of the South Africa Post Office Receiving Centers sat two boxes sent to our family from the States. For months, no mail had been processed, sorted or delivered all across the nation.

This is a photo of mail that had piled up as of November 6, 2014 at one station point in South Africa. Photo Credit: Nik Cogitator

Granted, this was not a life or death situation. It almost seemed self-serving to pray to God and ask that these boxes be delivered by Christmas time. However, the boxes represented far more than their physical contents. They symbolized the love, generosity, and touch from our family and our friends. You cannot put a monetary value on the joy that springs from our hearts when we open a box from home. There’s nothing quite like that feeling!

In all honesty, we don’t have tons of gifts at Christmas. John and I decided even before the kids were born that we didn’t want present-time to overshadow the significance of celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our kids do receive gifts on Christmas morning, and they really enjoy that fun, open-presents-Christmas-morning experience. However, we have attempted over the years to keep things simple and center our worship upon Emmanuel this time of year.

Yet, I admit, I hoped that the boxes would come in time for Christmas morning for our boys.

So, back in October, when the ongoing South Africa postal strike delayed the boxes, (one box had been mailed in August) I truly doubted that the boxes would arrive in time based on the dead-locked strike situation. It was then I decided to take this request to the Lord and ask for His help.

Would my God care about the delivery of two boxes in time for Christmas? I decided to believe that He would.

October passed.

Then November followed.

Finally, there was word that the postal strike was coming to an end. And when it ceased in early December, John and I wondered…

Were the boxes still in tact?

Would everything still be there?

Would the boxes be delivered in time for Christmas?

I continued to pray.

James wrote this: Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. New International Version, James 1:3

Now, I’m confident that James was not writing about our waiting for a Christmas box delivery when he penned these words about perseverance.

Yet, I took hold of these exhortative words nonetheless, as I prayed and prayed and prayed for the delivery of these two boxes day after day and week after week. I believed that the Lord wanted me to persevere in prayer – even in this relatively small, inconsequential matter.

Then, on December 11th, John decided to drop by our post office to see if these boxes may have been delivered there. To his surprise and delight, there they were – waiting!

Each box was in tact.

Each box was taped up and all of their contents secure.

Each box had arrived in time for Christmas. In fact, they were early!

As I indicated earlier, this may not be the most significant faith story I have ever shared in my life, but I consider it to be important nonetheless. It was important enough to me to seek God’s assistance and involvement because I really had no where else to turn. Thousands and thousands of letters, cards, bills, and boxes had accumulated in post office delivery stations over the course of four and a half months and somewhere in one of those massive piles were two boxes addressed to our family. Only our God could advocate for us and send the boxes to us in time for Christmas.

We all have people and matters of the heart that we pray for every single day.

We may sometimes wonder, “Should I even be praying about this?”

Or we may doubt that our needs matter all that much in comparison to the grave concerns of others.

Or we may feel that since our request is beyond our reach, perhaps it is really too much to ask for in the first place.

This is exactly when we need to remember the words of James: Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Perseverance with God is a faith-establishing work.

What are you praying for, my friend?

Please do not lose heart. If my God cares about a couple of boxes and their delivery to our family in time for Christmas, I am confident He cares for the concerns of your heart as well! Persevere! And may your faith be established and made strong in your perseverance and wait all to the glory and honor of our Lord!

6 Comments

Hi Susan, thanks for the affirmation! I think we have a tendency to rank things from big to small in terms of importance in prayer, but perhaps we’ve got it wrong – perhaps praying for any and all things is of equal importance as we seek the will of our God for His plan and purpose! Bless you, my friend! And thanks again, heather

Hi! This is a bit off topic but I just wanted to say hello again from your friend that stumbled across your blog a few months ago. I am happy to see that things have been going well for your family and I wish you a very happy holiday season! I hope you have time and friends around to enjoy it!

Hi Evan, I am so happy to hear from you again! How are things going for you? Did you get hit by that huge storm? By the way, I read your last blog post and would have loved to comment, but didn’t find a way to do that. Do you have a way to comment on your site? If not, that’s okay – just wanted you to know that I checked in with you! We are doing well – this side of the world. We’re on holiday as they say here – everything shuts down this time of year, and I mean just about everything – even the churches, believe it or not! People leave to go ‘on holiday’ at the coast, into the bush, to their families, so businesses literally shut down for a two – three week period. It’s actually a wonderful thing – there’s no rush-rush-rush now – just people enjoying their families and their friends. It’s one of the things we absolutely love about living here and being here this time of year! Anyway, just a brief catch-up! Take good care and please do stay in touch! Blessings and joy, heather

Hello! Good to hear back from you. Things are going alright here. We have been hit by plenty of snow so far, and I’m sure there’s more to come! It’s quite an adjustment for me after living in Virginia for the last couple of years, but I haven’t slipped and fallen on the ice yet! (I’m sure it will happen). 🙂

The holiday season there sounds lovely, although I think I might get bored eventually. I suppose that just encourages you to go find more friends to hang out with! My final exams are wrapping up right now so I’ve been a bit too busy to enjoy much in the way of holiday festivities, and my wife is working long hours because she works at a retail store and this is their busy season. So yes, a little break for just friend-and-family time sounds lovely!

I’m glad you got a chance to read that last blog post. You should be able to comment on it. You’ll have to click on the post title and then scroll to the bottom and there should be a box to reply. If it isn’t working on your computer though, I’d love to hear your thoughts here! Sorting out the injuries done to me by religion has long been a struggle, and the conversations we had were helpful for that, so I’d be happy to hear from you again on the matter. Take care, and enjoy your holiday!

Hi Evan, thanks for the reply! I’ll check out your blog again and see if I can comment. When I read your words, my heart was pierced by your pain. Like I said awhile back, I’m just so sorry about how you were treated. Anyway, I’ll pop over in the next couple of days and see if I can comment as I reread your blog post.

I do hope you and your wife are able to have some down time soon! Sounds like you guys are in the middle of a very hectic season!